Current-day dedicated home or commercial video game devices do not permit users to copy the video games and thereby protect the valuable copyrights and other proprietary rights that manufacturers and video game publishers own in their video games. Wide spread unauthorized copying of video games is believed to have substantially contributed to the crash of the home video game industry in the United States in the early 1980's and, even today, seriously dilutes the sales of video games in many countries. Home video game console manufacturers since the early 1980s have incorporated security measures to prevent easy copying of home video games and the use of unlicensed video games, especially home video game cartridges. An example of a home video game security system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,635, assigned to Nintendo Co. Ltd. and used in conjunction with the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).
In the prior art, a rudimentary attempt has been made to permit a user to modify, in limited respects, the intended manner in which a video game program operates. In this product, a game changing device is physically inserted into a conventional video game cartridge which in turn is coupled to a microprocessor based video game console. The game changing device includes a read-only memory (ROM) storing codes likely to be changed during the course of a game. The device monitors the video game microprocessor's address and data bus and transmits to the microprocessor a replacement code if there is a match with expected values. The replacement code modifies game play characteristics such as the number of lives of a character, the number of missiles which may be fired, etc. The user has no control over a game editing process with this product and has no ability to radically change game play in the manner that is practically realizable in accordance with the present invention. Moreover, game play can only be changed to permit operations and graphic displays originally contemplated within the realm of possible operations by the game programmer. However, in this prior art device, video games cannot be copied and thus the device does not permit an unauthorized user to make illegal copies of a video game.
Professional video game designers have heretofore had access to game program authoring tools to aid in designing original video games. These authoring tools do permit a professional designer to copy video games. However, these authoring tools are not widely available to general game player users and are generally too complicated for typical game player users to use. Accordingly, general game player users do not often copy illegally video games using these professional authoring tools.
In such programming authoring systems, considerable program designer activity is often required to modify a game under development in even very simple respects. For example, changes that are made to characters in a game are typically first made in an original character array, specified by the artist who formulated the character images. Any change made to characters must then be saved as a new file and transferred to, for example, a program debugging module which introduces the change into the game program under development. Changing the graphics of a game under development even with respect to relatively simple modifications typically involves a complex process of recompiling, reloading and displaying the modification. While a wide variety of sophisticated changes may be made to a game program being authored under the control of conventional authoring programs, such modifications require a high degree of programming sophistication and knowledge of game programming techniques.
In accordance with the present invention, unique video games may be simply created by authorized users ranging from a relatively unsophisticated elementary school students to sophisticated game developers. A unique hardware and software platform enables authorized users to create and copy original games by selecting icons which access more detailed editor screens permitting the user to directly change a wide variety of game display characteristics concerning moving objects and game backgrounds. In addition, a unique authorization system using user identification cards restricts access to the hardware and software platform to prevent unauthorized access and copying of video games and video game software.
Model software containing a model game from a desired genre of games is loaded into a video game RAM cassette and operating system software is loaded into a system RAM via a floppy disk. The present invention permits the user to initiate model game play, stop the game at any desired game screen to initiate a "system break" editing session during which a system window for enabling control over a wide variety of editing features is superimposed on the game screen. The user then selects a moving object or background scene for modification. If, for example, the user selects a moving object, then the moving object selected is identified by a unit number which is associated with a wide range of game play related characteristics. Once the moving object is selected, further icons are displayed permitting the user to completely change the object's character dot pattern for one or more of the poses associated with the object, animation features related to the object, the responses associated with detected game play conditions associated with the object, the collection of statuses associated with each object, the pattern of the object's movement, the sound associated with the pattern of the objects movement and a wide variety of additional game play related characteristics. The screen background may be likewise modified by accessing a stage window permitting the entire background map, the music associated with the background and a wide variety of additional background related features to be edited.
The exemplary embodiment of the present invention uses a multiprocessor based game processor console which includes a main central processing unit (CPU) controlling editing operations and operating system task execution and a game CPU for executing the model video game that is loaded into a pluggable RAM cartridge. The model video game provides a starting point from which a user can readily create an original video game using desired aspects of the model game. The model video game can be readily modified by user-created data to such an extent it appears to be a completely new game. The system permits a user to modify any of the game's moving objects, background screens, music or sound effects.
The main CPU and game CPU cooperate in the game execution and editorial process such that an editing screen generated by the main CPU is superimposed on a game screen generated by the program executing CPU. The game processing console includes ports connected to a wide variety of peripheral devices including a standard television set, keyboard, game hand controllers, mouse, modem board, an interface board for coupling the game processor to a personal computer system, floppy disk drive, an external RAM game cartridge and a user's ID card.
The system employs a dual security system in that a personal identification card (ID card) and a game cartridge both have embedded security custom integrated circuits (CICs) that work in cooperation with the model game software or user created software to permit game play and/or game authoring. The ID card is a personalized card having a CIC and a memory storing a unique identification data corresponding to a single authorized user and user configuration data (config.sys), such as mouse speed, mouse button double click interval, interval for keyboard key repeat and English/Japanese mode, for the operating system executed by the main CPU. The identification data in the ID card is compared by the main CPU to identification data stored on the floppy-disk containing the model game software program. If the comparison of identification data shows that the ID card corresponds to the floppy-disk, then the main CPU allows the user to activate, e.g., log-on, the personal computer functions (main CPU) of the game processor. To actually play a video game requires that the video game portion of the game processor (game CPU) be activated by confirming that an authorized game cartridge is inserted in the console.
The game cartridge also includes a security circuit, e.g. custom integrated circuit (CIC), that executes an authentication program in cooperation with a similar CIC included in the console. Such CICs and authentication techniques are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,655. Assuming that the game CPU authenticates the game cartridge, then the game CPU permits the user to play video games. When an authorized cartridge, and an ID card with a corresponding floppy disk are all inserted in the game processor console, the console becomes fully activated and permits the authorized user to play, edit and create video games.
Once this authorized user creates edited games, then the cartridge loaded with the edited games may be played by any user having the cartridge and either a game processor or other compatible video game console, such as the SNES video game console. The other user may not edit the already-edited game, however. The dual ID card and cartridge authentication system sets up different levels of access to the game processor console and video game software such that any user with an authentic game cartridge may play the game on that cartridge but only one or a limited group of users with an appropriate ID card and the game software stored on a corresponding floppy disk may copy or edit the game.
These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.